Extended local LTE services enhance viewing experience

Munich, 14 September 2018 – Smart Mobile Labs, the global leader in real-time many-to-many video transmissions, today announced its partnership with SES, the world’s leading satellite operator. This enables broadcasters and event organisers to make use of a new service that provides reliable onsite LTE network and dedicated Wi-Fi hotspots, regardless of the event location. To deliver the service, Smart Mobile Labs bundles its LTE technology into the OU Flex product of MX1, a subsidiary of SES.

Via SES and its powerful satellite fleet the OU Flex of MX1 offers 150 Mbit/sec of reliable bandwidth which combined with Smart Mobile Labs’ 5G-ready LTE/WiFi hotspot solution creates a range of new options. Together these innovations enable crystal-clear high definition and UHD content to be reliably and simultaneously distributed to a dedicated application on the mobile devices of thousands of event spectators and audiences around the world.

The LTE technology of Smart Mobile Labs is based on the company’s core technology, the Edge Video Orchestrator (EVO). It allows the distribution of real-time video streams with a hyper-low latency and will extend OU Flex’ onsite connectivity to deliver video, audio and data streams through a local mobile network for rebroadcasting and Content Delivery Network (CDN) distribution. The combined solution has proven to work with 4G LTE technology.

OU Flex on the other side provides a dependable video distribution and bidirectional IP connectivity solution for broadcasters, live event producers, event organisers and remote operators. The solution works even when terrestrial and mobile networks are in remote areas or congested. Even then it ensures that over-the-top streaming and social media updates can be executed from the field, while also distributing video feeds to TVs around the world.

The new OU Flex feature can be used for a variety of applications. For example it extends a network to mobile cameras that deliver focused views of an event to OU Flex-connected spectators onsite and audiences around the world. The mobile application can then offer these shots in a split screen mode, directed by the viewer’s choice. Additionally, sponsor information, graphic elements, or social media conversations can be superimposed on top of the video feed – for a total event immersion in real-time.

“We enhanced the viewing-experience at a major baseball game with our EVO technology by enabling spectators to choose the camera angle from which they prefer to view the game – whether from the pitcher’s, catcher’s or cheerleader’s perspective”, says Andreas Westhoff, CEO of Smart Mobile Labs. “By combining our solution with MX1’s OU Flex, we can go even further because of satellite reliability and reach. Now we will be able to deliver real-time experiences to customers in remote locations even when networks are congested.”

“Cooperating with Smart Mobile Labs allows event organizers to up their game as they can now offer services to thousands of phones on the ground, which empowers them to provide enhanced experiences to spectators on-location as well as those around the world,” said Wilfried Urner, CEO of MX1. “This add-on is a perfect complement to our OU Flex service as it expands the flexibility already offered. We are focused on delivering services that are plug-and-play without compromising on quality, which defines both OU Flex and this new Smart Mobile Labs add-on.”

About Smart Mobile Labs

Smart Mobile Labs is the global leader in real-time many-to-many video transmissions. With its core technology EVO (Edge Video Orchestrator), the company enables secure, dynamic and high-quality distribution of video, audio and data streams over the mobile network – with a hyper-low latency of one millisecond.

Smart Mobile Labs uses its unique technology to create unprecedented solutions for sports & event venues, public safety and connected cars. In these areas, the startup is a partner for international brands, such as Nokia. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany. www.smartmobilelabs.com

About SES

SES is the world’s leading satellite operator with over 70 satellites in two different orbits, Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). It provides a diverse range of customers with global video distribution and data connectivity services through two business units: SES Video and SES Networks. SES Video reaches over 351 million TV homes, through Direct-to-Home (DTH) platforms and cable, terrestrial, and IPTV networks globally. The SES Video portfolio includes MX1, a leading media service provider offering a full suite of innovative services for both linear and digital distribution, and the ASTRA satellite system, which has the largest DTH television reach in Europe. SES Networks provides global managed data services, connecting people in a variety of sectors including telecommunications, maritime, aeronautical, and energy, as well as governments and institutions across the world. The SES Networks portfolio includes GovSat, a 50/50 public-private partnership between SES and the Luxembourg government, and O3b, the only non-geostationary system delivering fibre-like broadband services today. Further information is available at: www.ses.com